A man who was woken after 10 months in a coma when he heard his girlfriend's voice over the phone from 7,000 miles away in Bali has spoken for the first time.

Mathew Taylor, 31, suffered devastating injuries in a motorcycle crash while staying on the Indonesian Island last July.

He had been lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and unresponsive, for months, until a phone call from fiancee Handayani Nurul, known as Anda, earlier this month. At the sound of her voice tears began trickling down his cheek.

True love: Mathew Taylor who was woken from a coma by the voice of his Balinese fiancee Anda Nurul has spoken for the first time

Heady days: The couple fell in love and got engaged after Mr Taylor moved to Indonesia to teach English

Now he’s amazing his family and medical staff with his progress.

His mother Heather Taylor-Moore, said: 'He is trying to speak. We sat him on the edge of the bed for physiotherapy and a sound came out of him.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

'It was a whisper and we couldn’t make out all of the sentence but he said something about his ‘left side’. I was in tears, the nurses were in tears.

'He has been in hospital for quite a while now and is really improving. He is just amazing.'

Miss Nurul was forced to return home to Bali after a three-month visa ran out

Mrs Taylor-Moore, of Overseal, Derbyshire, is still spending six hours a day at her son's bedside at the Royal Derby Hospital.

He is continuing to amaze hospital staff with his progress and recently tried to help nurses put on his own underwear.

He suffered a fractured skull, and had his eye socket rebuilt, using bone taken from his thigh. After surgery he slipped into a coma and had been in a vegetative state ever since.

Mathew, 30, of Spring Cottage Road, Overseal, near Swadlincote, south Derbyshire, had been in the country for almost two years teaching English and PE.

His girlfriend, Anda, found him languishing untreated in a hospital after going missing on Saturday, July 9.

Mathew’s family have spent an astonishing £250,000 on his medical treatment.

Anda stayed by his side for months with his mother, Heather Taylor-Moore, and sister, Karen Taylor, while he was moved between hospitals in Bali and Singapore.

Mrs Taylor-Moore said: 'He is nodding his head for yes and shaking for no, and responding to people when they ask him to do things.

'Sometimes he will point to things. He has movement in his hands. He has even tried to help the nurses put on his pants.

'But he does have bad days too, particularly when he develops an infection. I am trying to keep positive. We have been there every day, for six hours, for 11 months. He is my child and that is what you do.'

His fiancee, Handayani 'Anda' Nurul, recently returned to Bali after spending three months at his bedside. She keeps in regular contact by phone.

Mathew had been teaching in Bali for 18 months when he was hurt in a crash on one of the country’s notoriously dangerous roads in July last year.

As he was uninsured at the time, his family and friends had to come up with the cash to pay rapidly mounting medical bills, which led to a mammoth fund-raising effort.

In October, Mr Taylor was transferred back to Britain. Miss Nurul managed to secure a visa so she could join them at his bedside for three months, but after that she was forced to return home to Bali, where she studies Dutch literature at the University of Indonesia.

Luke Griggs, spokesman for brain injury charity Headway, said Mr Taylor could make a full recovery.

Overjoyed: Ms Nurul was forced to return to Bali after her visa ran out - but now she has hope that their wedding will finally take place

Emotional moment: It was Ms Nurul's voice that triggered Mr Taylor's first signs of life as he lay in a hospital bed

Miles apart: Mr Taylor's family were amazed when he moved his hand and tears streamed down his face as his fiancee spoke to him over the phone from the other side of the world

He said: ‘Coma arousal programmes are often used to try to stimulate patients who are in reduced states of consciousness, such as a coma or a persistent vegetative state.

‘These carefully planned periods of stimulation – in the form of sound, touch, smell and taste – are combined with periods of complete rest in order not to overload the person’s senses.

‘While each individual case is different, in general terms the longer a person remains in a state of reduced consciousness, the less likely they are to make a full recovery.

‘We have heard of several examples of people waking from comas and going on to make good recoveries and live happy, fulfilled lives.

‘Examples like this demonstrate that coma arousal programmes may well be effective.’

Advertisement

Share or comment on this article:

Coma patient Mathew Taylor woke after girlfriend spoke to him over the phone 7,000 miles away in Bali